Dr. Edward Frank Berinstein died peacefully on Wednesday, August 27th, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his beautiful wife of 48 years, Mariette, his three beautiful daughters, Stephany (Oliver), Nicol (Will), Rachel (Mike), his three beautiful grandsons, Cohen, Oscar, and Morrie, his beautiful Sister Roxy (Martin) and his beautiful brother Neil (Corinne). He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Dr. Berinstein was born in Winnipeg and graduated from the University of Manitoba’s School of Medicine in 1972. After completing his internship in Toronto, he joined the University of Manitoba’s Northern Medical Unit in Churchill, Manitoba. It was there that he met his wife and soulmate, Mariette. Together they spent three years in northern Manitoba and then accepted a position in 1976 at the Pender Harbour Health Centre on the Sunshine Coast.
In 1980, Dr. Berinstein joined the Gibsons Medical Clinic and, for the next forty years, practiced full-service, cradle-to-grave medicine. This included office practice, emergency room work, obstetrics, anesthesia, nursing home visits, palliative care, and house calls. He was Medical Director of the Sechelt | shíshálh Hospital for many years and a founding member of the Sunshine Coast Division of Family Practice. He was also the physician representative on the Sechelt Hospital Foundation board for many years. Dr. Berinstein was instrumental in starting a palliative care service here on the Sunshine Coast and, upon retirement, spent time on the Sunshine Coast Hospice board, bringing his medical and palliative care experience as well as his passion for seeing a free-standing hospice facility on the Sunshine Coast. During all this time, he was a dear and much-valued member of the Sunshine Coast Medical community.
Dr. Berinstein was introduced to mindfulness meditation when he first arrived on the Sunshine Coast, and in the 1990s began hosting meditation groups in his home. In the early 2000s, he received further training, based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, and began facilitating Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) workshops through the Roberts Creek Community School Association, the Sechelt Mental Health Centre, and privately. He later co-facilitated for many years, along with another physician colleague, Rahul Gupta, the eight-week MBSR program. Over the years, hundreds of people have attended these programs and have benefited greatly.
Dr. Berinstein was a gifted athlete, excelling in hockey and baseball. He was the goaltender for the University of Manitoba Bisons from 1965-68 and represented Canada in the World University Student Games in Turin, Italy in 1965. He continued his goaltending career here on the Sunshine Coast, and many times the fans in the stands could be heard chanting ED-DIE, ED-DIE, ED-DIE.
Above all else, Dr. Berinstein was a family man and cherished his beautiful and loving wife, children and grandchildren. They were everything to him, and he transmitted to them the guiding principles of his life, kindness and love. He will be greatly missed by his loving family, close and extended, his friends, near and far, and the community at large.
A small graveside ceremony will be held on Friday, August 29th, at 1pm at Seaview Cemetery. The family will sit Shiva for the days of August 29th through September 1st from 2pm to 5pm at 3311 Beach Avenue. The family welcomes all community members into their home who wish to pay their respects during this time.
The family would like to thank Dr. John Hourigan, Dr. Sara Wadge, Petrina Wing and all of the nurses on the Gibsons palliative care and home care team, the Sechelt | shíshálh Hospital, and the BC Cancer agency for the loving care he received in his dying days.
